Rich and thoughtful originals from the pen of trumpeter Sam Butler are delivered on this album with a full house team of Greg Ward/as, Garrett Fasig/ts, Luther S. Allison/p, Brendan Keller-Tuburg/b Kenny Phelps/dr and guest Garrett Spoelhof/org.
Butler has a sweet bopping tone to his horn, similar to that of vintage players like Kenny Dorham and Blue Mitchell, clear on the impressionistic “Suspension (Adrift, Glide)”and gracefully cadencing to Allison’s piano on “Premonition, Acuity Flourish”. Allison gets a spotlight on the nocturne of “Feeling” guest organ player Spoelhof adds texture to the elegiac “The Primrose Path”. Keller-Tuberg and Phelps dig in on the funky”Storybook” with Butler’s brass bright and clear, whereas the team changes gears and ideas midstream on “Ramifications” and Butler in a fluffy form on the cirrus “When Darkness Reaches Morning”. Lots of enjoyable journeys on this trip.